Chapter 53:The Preliminaries Part III

Chapter 53:

The Preliminaries Part III

Rasa vs. Yamanaka Inoichi

Itsuki chuckled as he looked up at the screen. "Two in a row, huh? Then again, there aren't many of us left now….."

Karura didn't comment as she walked up to them, a small frown present on her face. Tsume was currently being carried out of the room by the same medical ninja as before. Kushina was already making her way up the stairs as well, except she didn't have the same enthusiasm as before.

Rasa closed his eyes as he began to make his way towards the stairs, sparring a glance towards Karura as they crossed paths. The boy could already see that his teammate was looking forward to making that redhead girl go through the same treatment as the Inuzuka. But Rasa didn't let that weigh on his mind. He had faith in Karura's skills. Even so, he could see that there was something else to this Uzumaki Kushina that none of them had realized before. That aura from a few moments before…well, if Rasa was being honest with himself, it had been extremely dark, dark enough to even make him feel a bit shaky.

But for now, he would have to win this match.

Itsuki chuckled some more as Karura came to a step next to him. On the other side of the room, the Suna genin could see how that Akimichi who had lost to this Kushina and some other dark haired boy were encouraging a blond with a ponytail. From that, Itsuki could tell that that was Rasa's opponent.

But he placed that to the side for a moment as he glanced at Karura. "It seems that you've made an enemy out of that girl."

Karura looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "And do you really think that concerns me?"

Itsuki shrugged. "I wouldn't think it would, considering your past. But that's irrelevant. You felt the same chakra as I did. There's something off about her, even more so than that Uchiha. I would be careful if I were you."

Karura actually had a look full of surprise. "This is unexpected. You've never once shown to care for either Rasa or me."

The sword wielding genin shrugged for a second time. "That's because there hadn't been a need. Anyone our age back in the village were no match for either of you. But this is different. If you're not careful, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a beating."

"I'll keep that in consideration," Karura muttered, turning her attention to Kushina on the other side of the room. Her hands clenched as she looked at how the redhead returned to her carefree state with her other comrades. For Karura, it was a sight that she could not stand. For many reasons. Shinobi from Konoha were just an anomaly for her. And yet, they had been the ones to defeat them in the last war. It was a reality that could not be avoided.

'I can think about that later,' Karura thought, suppressing the darker thoughts that came along with this subject. For now, she had to pay attention to her teammate's match.

"But, man, that blond guy sure has no luck," Itsuki commented as he leaned against the railing. Both Inoichi and Rasa were already down in the battle area, the latter having his arms crossed in front of him with a calm look on his face.

"Rasa is going to just destroy him….."

On the other side, Sarutobi looked on in interest as he noticed the demeanor of the Suna genin. It was the same as the kunoichi from before. No, not entirely. His was even more intense. From the looks of it, this boy was probably a lot stronger than the girl from before. If that was the case, then Inoichi really was in for a tough time. But such was the unpredictability of these matches. And of the way of the shinobi. One should always be ready to face a stronger opponent at any time.

Shikaku, not having forgotten what had happened to Tsume, was watching this match with a frown. It wasn't that he didn't particularly care for Tsume. But he had a closer relationship with Inoichi than with the girl. It was why he had asked Inoichi to back out of this match. But the Yamanaka had refused, especially since Mikoto was watching. To Shikaku, it was a dumb reason. But he also knew that Inoichi wasn't going to back down at the moment. So he had no choice but to hope for the best.

Off to the side, Kushina glanced next to her to see Emi staring down at Inoichi with a worried look. Now that got a small confused reaction out of her before a small smile plastered itself on her face.

'I see….'

Kushina silently giggled to herself.

Down below, Inoichi steeled his nerves as he looked at Rasa who still had his arms crossed in front of him. Just like with Karura before him, he had no amount of apprehension about this match.

'I'll have to score a victory for us here,' Inoichi thought as he readied himself. 'If anything, for what happened to Tsume before….'

Seeing that both genin were ready to get things started, the chunnin began to raise his arm up in the air. As he was bringing it back down, the canister strapped to Rasa's hip burst open with gold sand.

"The seventh match…..begin!"

Inoichi instantly jumped back away from his opponent, his teeth gritted as he looked at the sand surrounding Rasa.

'So he uses the same jutsu as that girl before…..'

Itsuki chuckled as he looked down at Inoichi. 'Oh, man. I bet he's thinking that this is the same as Karura's jutsu. But you're wrong, man. It may still be sand, but it isn't the same. Rasa's sand is much more powerful than Karura's. And a lot faster too. Although she would never admit to that,' Itsuki finished while glancing at Karura with a smirk.

Sarutobi hummed from his spot. 'Sand again, huh? This really isn't looking good for Inoichi.'

Shikaku merely t'ched, also observing this with irritation.

Down below, Rasa sighed when he saw how Inoichi wasn't moving after a few moments. "Well? Are you going to come or not?"

Inoichi smirked. "What's the rush? Or do you think that running in blind is the best way one should go?"

Rasa raised an eyebrow at this. "That's not what I meant. It all boils down to one thing: no matter what you attempt to do, you have no chance in winning this match. So stalling is only going to bore me and the others here."

Inoichi narrowed his eyes. "You Sand people…..you really are annoying, you know that right?"

Rasa didn't bat an eye. "Whether you like me or not is none of my concern, Yamanaka. I'm only here to represent my home village to the best of my abilities. If you think that your dislike for me is going to make me rethink that, then you're more stupid than I had first thought."

Inoichi gritted his teeth at the response. But he also knew that he couldn't rush in blindly with his jutsu. If he did and it missed, then it would spell the end of the match for him. And of his participation in this exam. His jutsu worked best in ambushes and with support, after all. That was why he had been placed in the same team with both Shikaku and Choza. At the same time, though, he just could not do nothing either. His only chance at winning would be to find a way around Rasa's sand so that he could get a clean shot at the boy. But he was positive that he didn't have the speed for that. Hell, the only reason Tsume had been able to score some damage on the girl before was because of her destructive technique. The Yamanaka didn't have anything as destructive as that. At least, physically.

'This is going to be a problem,' Inoichi thought at last.

Sighing again, Rasa finally lost all his patience. It was just like he had said before: no matter what Inoichi tried to do, it wouldn't work. And he wasn't one to sit still and do nothing.

With that in mind, he willed his sand forward. And true to Itsuki's analysis before, the sand rushed towards Inoichi at a faster speed than Karura's had against Tsume before.

It was something that Sarutobi picked up on on with another hum.

But even so, Inoichi was able to dodge the first strike, if barely, by flinging himself to the side. Unfortunately, Rasa's sand wasn't something that one could dodge by standing still. So Inoichi had no chance to dodge the second wave that instantly shot towards him after the first.

Up above, Emi flinched when she saw the gold sand collide with Inoichi. "This sand guy…..Inoichi doesn't have a chance against him, does he?"

Hearing her words, Kushina glanced at her again, this time with a frown. Turning her attention back down below, the redhead could only shake her head. "I don't know…but don't count Inoichi out just yet. I'm sure he can bring down something."

But Kushina's words fell flat when Inoichi kept getting beaten around by Rasa's sand with incredible ease. Rasa himself wasn't doing much. He was still in the same spot with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Oi, oi. Inoichi needs to surrender this already," Choza commented with a frown as he continued to watch the match.

"I know that already," Shikaku muttered with gritted teeth. But the idiot wasn't going to listen to them, no matter what they said. At this point, they could only hope that Rasa wasn't as vicious as his teammate before him.

Back to the match, Inoichi held his side as he panted, another wave of sand up above him.

'This guy isn't taking it easy on me,' he thought with a smirk, a small amount of blood dropping down from his lips. Despite how beaten up he was, Inoichi didn't let anything else affect him. He knew his choice wasn't the smart one. Far from it. In face of this gold sand, his jutsu was useless. But at the same time, Inoichi held through to his belief. Just because things were tough, it didn't excuse anyone from running away. It was simply another challenge that he had to overcome. And if he failed, then he failed. And that was that.

Noticing the smirk on his opponent's face, Rasa narrowed his eyes. He didn't understand this guy. Why was Inoichi smirking? He was on the verge of losing. It was obvious to anyone else that Rasa was simply too powerful of an opponent for the blond. So then what was it? In the shinobi world, victory was everything.

'So why is he grinning when he's about to lose?' Rasa thought with irritation.

Up above, Minato observed this with a smile. It was something that Yoshino picked up on with a frown.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked. "I mean, Inoichi is about to lose this."

"Yeah, he is," Minato agreed, his smile never leaving his face. "And Inoichi knew this. I bet he knew he didn't have a chance at winning the moment he saw his opponent's jutsu. But despite how smart he can be, Inoichi is also an idiot." Yoshino didn't need to be convinced of the last part alright. "He never tries to run away from a challenge in front of him, even if he has no chance at winning. It may seem stupid to others. And it may very well be, especially since we are shinobi. But it's also something that I can say with certainty that I admire about him. He's a shinobi worth looking up to."

Yoshino didn't know how to respond to that. She had never thought of Inoichi to be as deep of a person as that. He was always sprouting stupid crap that didn't interest her, especially about Mikoto. But she never would have guessed that there was a different side to him that she had never seen before.

'Maybe that's why she…..'

Yoshino didn't finish that train of thought as she glanced over towards Emi.

Behind her, Mikoto also had her eyes opened, having had listened to everything that Minato had said. To her, Inoichi had always been another annoying fanboy that she had to put up with. But now…..

She smiled for a moment before she closed her eyes again. 'I guess you're much more of an idiot that I thought, Inoichi.'

Down at the battle area, Inoichi was slammed back towards the wall one final time, his consciousness finally leaving him. But there was still a smile plastered on his face.

Even as the chunnin announced him as the winner, Rasa somehow felt that he wasn't the winner at all.

'No, that's idiotic,' he thought to himself as he made his way back towards his team, his sand back in his canister next to him. 'It's all about power. And I was stronger than him. That's all there is to it.'

And yet, he still had that empty feeling in his gut.

Up on the viewing level, Emi sighed as she shook her head. "That idiot just had to prove something, didn't he?" she said as the medics carried Inoichi out of the room.

Kushina smiled. "Yeah. But at least he didn't run away. That's something."

Emi didn't reply, turning her attention back to the screen as the next two names were shown.

Nara Shikaku vs. Yamanaka Emi

The girl watched the screens for a few more seconds before she finally sighed. 'So, it's my turn next.'

Shikaku was already muttering "troublesome" while Choza patted his back. "C'mon, buddy. After what Inoichi just did, you're not going to give up, are you?"

Scratching the back of his head, Shikaku finally said, "Fine." In the face of Inoichi's match, even Shikaku couldn't complain. And that was saying something.

Overhearing this, Yoshino smiled. 'It's about time, you lazy fool.'

Next to her, Minato waved at Shikaku who began to make his way down towards the battle area, his hands in his pockets.

Kushina bid Emi good luck who followed behind the quiet Nara. Emi had heard a lot of things about Shikaku from Yoshino, a few of which pointed towards him being a dangerous opponent. The boy might be lazy, but everything changed when he got serious. And from the looks of it, Shikaku was aiming to win here.

It was why Emi took extra precautions as the two stopped in front of one another, the chunnin announcing the start of the eight match.

Already knowing of Shikaku's jutsu, Emi quickly threw a couple of shuriken straight for the Nara, intent on not allowing the boy the time to prepare his chakra.

The boy muttered "troublesome" as he was forced to dodge, his hands still in his pockets.

This made Emi narrowed her eyes. "You don't have the time to take things easy!" she exclaimed as she rushed towards the Nara.

'She's trying to push me back before I can pull off my jutsu,' Shikaku deduced as the girl pounced on him. Shikaku also knew why Emi hadn't tried her jutsu yet. And that was because, just like with Inoichi, she only had one try. If she missed, it was game over. Shikaku was also ready in case she did try to get him with it. But since Emi was also aware of his jutsu, they were both at a disadvantage here.

Except that Shikaku wasn't Yoshino.

It was why Emi was surprised when Shikaku didn't move a muscle as she descended down on him with a fist ready. Instead he grabbed a hold of her wrist with ease before flinging her behind him.

Kushina's widened slightly at seeing this. 'Woah. I didn't think this lazy butt was good with taijutsu too….'

'Except that he isn't really,' Yoshino thought with a sigh. 'But after being around Minato all these years, he's picked up some things. You underestimated him too much, Emi.'

It was something that Emi realized too late.

"Kage Nui no jutsu."

And just when she was about to move, her whole body was bound by several sharp shadow needles, bringing her back to the ground roughly.

"I was actually thinking of making things a bit easier before," Shikaku said, his back still to her. "But instead, you made things too easy for me, Emi. You underestimated me too much."

'Except that I wasn't!' Emi screamed in her mind, trying to fight against the Nara's technique. But she didn't have enough strength for it. Shikaku was right, after all. She had assumed that close combat would have guaranteed her victory, given that Yoshino wasn't all that good with taijutsu. But Shikaku had proven her wrong with that. She had made herself too easy of a target for the lazy boy.

"So. Are you going to surrender. Or?"

Emi t'ched. "You know, Shikaku, you really need to start trying more. Otherwise, people are going to be surprised when you keep showing what you can actually do. But yeah, yeah. I surrender, you lazy prick."

Shikaku didn't reply, releasing his jutsu.

"The winner is Nara Shikaku."

Emi sighed as she stood back up. That had been quite anticlimactic if she had to say so. Either way, this was the end of the road for her in this exam.

'I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover,' she thought as she glanced over towards Shikaku. The boy was much more powerful than others gave credit him for. Just like with Inoichi, there were many more layers to him than others would assume. His friendship with Inoichi made a bit more sense now, that was for sure.

"Well, you will have your fill in the finals, brat. That's certain."

'What do you mean?' Kushina asked as Emi came walking over towards her again.

"The others before were a bit more obvious with their skills, except maybe for that boy with the bugs. But now, you have this guy."

'Shikaku? What about him?'

Kurama sighed. "Did you not see that jutsu of his? It's not something you want to get caught in. It would take you using my chakra to break out of it."

Now that made Kushina uneasy. 'Are you serious?' She hadn't known that the same jutsu that Yoshino used was that powerful.

"Yes. I'm betting a few of the others aren't thinking of him as too dangerous either. But that jutsu of his isn't something to scoff at. Trust me. If you do end up facing him, then I suggest that you keep that in mind. Especially since it seems that he didn't have to show all of his abilities since his opponent gave him a wide opening."

Kushina merely nodded, taking in everything that Kurama had just told her like a sponge.

The chunnin down below coughed as he got everyone's attention. "Now, may the last two participants come down for the final match."

Both Minato and Itsuki locked eyes, the latter smirking before they started to make their way down towards the battle area.

Rasa and Karura watched their teammate go, not giving him any words of encouragement. As far as they were concerned, they had a clean sweep in this round.

'This match will be another interesting one,' Sarutobi thought as both genin faced off. 'Time to see what you've taught him, Jiraiya.'

His pupil was always bragging about Minato, after all. It was time to see what the blond boy could do.

Down below, Itsuki was grinning. "It's about damn time I got my turn! Although it's true what they say, after all. You gotta save the best for last. I just hope you make this interesting for me, blondie."

Minato didn't respond, keeping his eyes locked on Itsuki.

Seeing this, Itsuki sighed. "So you're like Rasa, eh? Boring, if I do say so." Cracking his neck, the boy then pulled out one of his swords. "Oh, well. Let's just get this started."

Looking between the genin, the chunnin began to raise his arm for the last time. "The final match…..begin!" His arm went down.

Pulling out two kunai from his pouch at blazing speed, Minato rushed towards Itsuki just as fast. But before everyone's eyes, they saw Itsuki rush Minato with the same speed, the two clashing.

Kushina leaned forward, keeping her eyes closely on the two genin as they continued to clash with one another in a battle of sword against kunais. But she was having a tough time keeping up. They were fast. Faster than anyone else she had been so far.

On the other side, Rasa raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw this. "Well then. I didn't think there was anyone here that could match Itsuki's speed. But this guy….."

Karura didn't reply, but she was just as surprised as Rasa was.

The Konoha genin on the other hand were surprised that there was someone here that could keep up with Minato's speed. The only one they had seen that could match Minato was Sasuke. And Kazuki, but none of them could remember the Uchiha right now. Except for Mikoto.

Said Uchiha was also watching this match with a calculating gaze. Minato had always been an intense challenge for her. And now, this Suna genin was proving to be a challenge of his own.

Down below, Itsuki was grinning like a madman as he and Minato continued to go at one another, sparks flying as his blade went against Minato's kunais.

"You're pretty good, blondie!" he exclaimed, his grin wide as he and Minato jumped back from one another. Reaching behind him, Itsuki began to pull out his second sword. "I didn't actually think that I would be able to try in this round. I'm glad you're proving me wrong!"

Minato didn't respond, his eyes locked on to Itsuki. To Kushina, it was like she was watching a different person. She had always seen Minato as a wimpy kid in all honesty. It was part of the reason why she had never understood why the Namikaze had gotten one of the highest scores in the class.

"He's always been like that, you know," Emi said next to her. "When he's fighting, it's like he's a different person. There's so much focus to him. It's why there wasn't anyone that could beat him. Then Sasuke-kun showed up. But that doesn't mean he's gotten weaker. If anything, he's a lot stronger now."

Taking all of this in, Kushina focused back on the match. She still didn't quite understand all of it. But she got the gist of it: Minato was strong.

With the match, Itsuki charged for Minato again, the blond dodging to the side. But his eyes widened when he noticed that, even after having had dodged the blade perfectly, a small cut appeared on his cheek. His mind then caught on a second later to what was happening, this time jumping back even more to put some distance between himself and his opponent.

"Oh?" Itsuki said with a small grin. "It seems like you already caught on. You're fast, blondie."

'Is he adding wind to his sword?' Kushina thought with a curious gaze.

'So that's the trick,' Mikoto said to herself as she watched the match. 'He can already apply his chakra nature to his weapons. That makes it a lot trickier. But….'

Minato smirked slightly. "You caught me by surprise with that. But…."

Itsuki's eyes widened when lighting engulfed both of Minato's kunais. "Don't think you're the only that has that skill!"

Itsuki soon found himself on the defensive as Minato was the one to charge him this time, his speed even faster than before.

Up above, Takao gripped the railing with narrowed eyes. 'So, you can already apply your lightning element on your muscles to further increase your speed, Minato.'

It was something that he still could not do as of now, despite the fact that he also possessed the same Raiton style as Minato. And that fact infuriated the boy greatly.

Itsuki then grinned even more than before as he and Minato continued to clash with one another, both of them appearing as nothing but blurs to many of the watching genin. Including Kushina.

"He's good," Karura muttered, not believing that someone here could actually keep up with Itsuki when he was serious.

Rasa was also thinking the same thing, now completely engrossed with this match.

"We're like mortal enemies, you and I," Itsuki said between clashes down in the battle area. "You're a lighting user while I possess the Futon style. Given the natural rule of things, I should be expected to win. Of course, if the lighting is powerful enough, it can overcome any wind. But you know something, blondie…."

Minato soon found himself being kicked back as Itsuki finally scored another hit on him, wind picking up around the the Suna genin.

"My wind is just too strong for your lightning!"

To the others, it was almost like Itsuki became the wind itself as he disappeared from sight. Less than a second later, he was already behind Minato, his swords ready as he prepared to pierce Minato and win the match.

But to Itsuki's surprise, Minato was able to dodge even that as he ducked down. Not only was he able to dodge it, but Itsuki found himself trapped as ninja wire wrapped tightly around him, courtesy of Minato who now also had his arm stretched out.

"Oi, oi," Shikaku muttered as he watched this. "Did he get even faster than before or what?"

Choza had no response for his friend. But he did have to agree with him: Minato was even faster than the last time that they had seen him fight.

Minato wasn't done with his counterattack either. Bringing his hands together, Minato channeled his chakra through the end of the ninja wire that he had in his hands. Itsuki screamed out in pain as lighting hit his body thanks to Minato.

"This is…." Rasa muttered.

'It's the same as Fugaku's technique,' Mikoto thought with narrowed eyes. 'But he's never shown that in front of us. So he's either hidden it from us, or-'

'Or he picked it up after watching it,' Yoshino finished, her eyes also narrowed. She already knew that Minato was a genius. To him, there wasn't much that he couldn't learn after a few days. He was also quick to pick up new skills that interested him. It was his own version of the sharingan, in a sense. That wasn't to say that he did it often. It was rare. But when push came to shove, Minato wasn't one to hold back in a fight. And it seemed as if this Itsuki was good enough to press him to show new things.

'Woah.' Kushina couldn't believe any of this. These two were a lot better than she had thought.

To the others, it was like Minato had won the fight. But said blond didn't seem to share the same thought as he jumped back from Itsuki. Less than a second later, the ninja wire all around Itsuki's body was cut with incredible ease. Said genin also flexed his arms, taking a step forward. He did have some slight cuts around his body, however. But to the others, Itsuki should have already dropped to the ground after that last assault. So then, how was it that he was still standing and able to move?

'This match is getting more and more interesting,' Sarutobi thought, already noticing what Itsuki was doing at the moment.

'To think that you've been pushed this far,' Rasa thought as he looked down at Itsuki before glancing towards Minato. 'You…..you're really good.'

Down below, Minato had his eyes narrowed as he crouched. "So, you're applying wind chakra all around your body, are you?" he said, speaking for the second time since the match had begun. His kunais were no longer engulfed in lightning either.

At hearing this, Takao leaned forward, his eyes wide. 'That…..it's just like what I did! Except that instead of lightning, he's using wind!'

Itsuki for his part chuckled. "You…..you really catch on fast, blondie. I actually thought that I would have finished you by now. But it looks like I can't afford to hold back here either. Otherwise, I really will lose." It was then that all playfulness left Itsuki's face. To Minato, it was like he was staring at a different person. "From here on out, the real battle begins."

From the viewing level, Karura noticed this with a frown. 'So, you've finally gotten really serious, Itsuki.' It had been a while since she had last seen Itsuki like this. It only went to show her how much her teammate was being pressured right now.

Sighing, Minato calmed himself down as he molded even more chakra, lighting once more engulfing his two kunais. But Takao also noticed how the smallest bit of sparkles shot out from the blond's body. It showed Takao that the boy was using lighting on himself to further increase his speed just like he had done before in order to keep up with Itsuki.

For a moment, nothing happened. But then both Minato and Itsuki disappeared into blurs again. Kushina's eyes were wide in shock, no longer being able to keep up with either boy. To her, all she saw were sparkles appearing all over the room. And it wasn't contained to just the battle area either. Sometimes it was up on the ceiling or along the walls too.

'This speed,' Sarutobi thought, his eyebrows shooting up in shock. 'This isn't the speed of a genin. Or even a chunnin. These two…..they're almost achieving jonin speed levels! But how!?'

Behind Kushina, Sakumo was thinking along the same lines as the Sandaime. 'I can't believe this Minato boy is actually this fast already! But not just him…..this Suna shinobi is on par with him! I don't think there's any other genin here that could possibly keep up with them…..'

Sarutobi then chuckled softly. 'I see now. I always thought your boasts were too exaggerated, Jiraiya. I see now that you weren't kidding. Minato….he really is extraordinary.'

Rasa's hands clenched into fists. 'Itsuki…..have you always held back in front of us?' This was the first time that he had seen Itsuki achieve this sort of speed. He was having trouble keeping up now, only able to actually pick up their forms ever so lightly at random times. And that could cause problems for him if he ever went against the sword wielding boy. Or against the blond.

With the match, the confrontation kept going the same way for another whole minute before both boys appeared back down in the center, both panting heavily as they looked at one another. There were notable cuts on both genin as well as tears all over their clothes.

Despite all of that, however, there were noticeable matching smirks on both of their faces. They were enjoying themselves.

Shikaku sighed when he noticed this. 'Troublesome. Only someone like you could enjoy fighting so much, Minato. Then again, that guy from Suna is also feeling the same way. And I have to fight against one of them in the finals? What a troublesome situation.'

"This has been fun, blondie," Itsuki said, actually meaning what he had just said. "This is the first time that I've ever tried this much."

"Yeah, there's only been one other guy that's pushed me this far," Minato admitted.

Itsuki smiled. "I guess I should feel a bit honored." The smile then disappeared. "But even so, I will be the one to win here!"

Feeling the same way, Minato dashed towards Itsuki who also did the same thing at the exact same time. Screaming, Minato threw both of his kunais, still engulfed in lightning, straight for Itsuki who raised his swords, blocking the kunais. But having already expected this, Minato brought his arms back, both kunais pulling back towards the Konoha genin.

Itsuki was shocked to see this, picking up the ninja wire tied to both kunais a moment later. 'This guy…..even during our showdown, he still had the time to attach ninja wire to them!?'

Grabbing a hold of both kunais again, Minato threw one of them for Itsuki again, this time the kunai piercing Itsuki's shoulder. Unlike before, he had not been expecting this. With Minato having been faster than him, he hadn't had the time to repel the kunai with his wind. With his shoulder hit, Itsuki lost some of his momentum as he and Minato clashed with one another. Because of this lost, Itsuki found himself falling to one knee, Minato pushing him back down with his remaining kunai. With his advantage, Minato sent his knee forward, bypassing his opponent's defenses. But Itsuki wasn't so surprised this time. It was why Minato found that he couldn't connect with his knee, Itsuki's wind "shield" blocking him. But Minato hadn't expected any less from Itsuki either.

Itsuki narrowed his eyes when he saw a small smirk appear on Minato's face. Not understanding, Itsuki didn't have to think about it for too long as pain began to spread throughout out his body. The source was none other than the kunai that Minato had stabbed him with earlier. Ninja wire was still attached to the kunai, the same ninja wire that Minato had just used to shoot lightning through.

'Of course!' Itsuki thought through the pain. 'How could I have forgotten about that!? I was too careless dammit!' He had been too focus on Minato himself, and he was now paying the price for it.

With all this damage, Itsuki wasn't able to retain his defenses. It was why he was left wide open as Minato sent a powerful kick to his jaw, sending Itsuki flying up in the air. With the kunai still embedded in his shoulder, Minato followed right after him. Letting his second kunai go, Minato brought out more ninja wire, using it to trap his opponent while still in midair.

With all the pain, Itsuki was only able to feel ninja wire wrapping even more tightly around him. With the immense pressure, his hands were forced to drop his swords, which fell down to the ground. But Minato paid this no mind, grabbing a hold of Itsuki's arms with both of his hands.

Noticing this, Itsuki gritted his teeth, sending whatever strength he had left to his wind shield.

But no longer underestimating his opponent at all, Minato was already prepared for this, sending all of his chakra through his ninja wire and engulfing Itsuki's body. Even Itsuki didn't have the strength to fend this off, his wind being overpowered by Minato's lightning.

"I'm sorry to say," Minato began, "but your wind is no longer strong enough for my lightning!"

Still in midair, the two began to spin at top speed before making their way down towards the ground. To the onlookers, it looked as if a lightning bullet had just been formed as the two continued to spin rapidly.

A moment later, the bullet hit the ground, sending a powerful shockwave throughout the room as a dust cloud covered the impact area which blocked their view completely.

'I can't believe this,' Kushina thought, her shock rising even more after what she had just witnessed. 'Minato…..just how strong are you!?'

Mikoto was thinking the same thing at the moment, a frown now evident on her face.

The other Konoha genin were simply too shocked to form any thoughts, opting instead to seeing who would come out on top.

On the other side, Rasa was scowling while Karura was watching the match with wide eyes. The final match of the preliminaries had turned into something that she could have never anticipated.

Sarutobi was now openly chuckling as the dust cloud began to disperse. 'This final match…..it really turned out to be something else.'

Several seconds went by before the dust cloud dispersed enough to where the others could see clearly what had become of Minato and Itsuki. Minato was panting even more heavily as he knelt beside Itsuki who was on the ground on his back, panting as well as he tried to retain his consciousness. He could no longer move his body.

The chunnin, who had made sure to stay out of the way of the two genin, picked up on this. So raising his arm, he stated, "The winner of the final match is Namikaze Minato."

The other genin were still too shocked to say anything, still not believing the display of skills that they had just seen.

But Itsuki wasn't so shocked as he burst out in laughter. It was one filled with obvious contentment. It wasn't something one would expect from someone who had just lost the match.

"Hahaha! That was incredible, blondie! You seriously are something else, aren't you?"

Minato smiled. "I can say the same thing to you."

Itsuki grinned. "Yeah. You beat me this time. But be ready. I'll be coming after you again. And next time, I'll be the one to defeat you."

Minato continued to smile as he said, "I'll be ready for that. But I won't lose so easily."

The two boys laughed after that with Itsuki wishing that he could at least move his hands so that he could give the blond a well deserved handshake. Unfortunately, he wasn't. So he could only let himself be carried out by the same group of medics from before.

The other genin came out of their shock when they saw this. The bubbly atmosphere that Minato and Itsuki had created was strong enough to knock any sort of serious feelings that they had had before.

'Ah, the future is bright, after all,' Sarutobi thought as he observed this.

Minato and Itsuki…..the two had come to respect one another after their match.

The genin who had won their respective matches stood before Sarutobi and the chunnin. The jonin were still up on the viewing level alongside the remaining genin who hadn't won their matches.

"Congratulations to you all," Sarutobi began with a smile. "You have all earned your spot in the final rounds of the Chunnin exams. Stand proud at this."

And the genin did. Kushina was smiling wide, although some part of her wished that both Fugaku and Hizashi were here to share this moment with her. But she would have to tell them about her victory later.

The chunnin stepped forward, holding a box in his hands. "Alright. The final rounds of the exam will be the same as this: a tournament among you with only one winner. But be warned: even if you win, there's no guarantee that you will become chunnin. Just like even if you lose, there's no guarantee that you won't become a chunnin either. So we could have many who achieve this promotion or none at all."

The genin listened intently to this.

Continuing, the chunnin said, "The next matches will be decided right now. All of you will pick a number starting from one. This will tell you what your placement in the tournament will be. In other words, the one who picks the number one will go against the one who picks number two and so on. Due to the fact that there are an odd number of participants, one of you will have to fight twice before you can move on. Does everyone understand?"

The genin all nodded.

"Good. Now, each of you step forward one at a time."

The genin did so. Minato was the one to pick a number first with Kushina being the last one. Since Hikari wasn't here, the remaining number went to her.

The redhead looked down at the paper in her hands. She had picked out the number one. Which meant…..

"Heh. Looks like you'll be the one fighting first this time, brat."

'Yeah. But who's number two?' she wondered briefly.

"Alright. All of you raise your papers."

Following the instructions, the genin didn't bother to look among one another to see who had which number. The chunnin was already writing down the results of the drawing in a clipboard that Sarutobi had handed him.

A few moments later, the chunnin showed them all the results.

Uzumaki Kushina vs. Amane Takao

Uchiha Mikoto vs. Karura

Rasa vs. Aburame Shibi

Nara Shikaku vs. Namikaze Minato (The winner of this match will fight against Hyuuga Hikari.)

Kushina's eyes were instantly drawn to Takao who was standing on the other side of the line. The redhead never would have thought that she would have the chance to avenge Hizashi this early. But she would gladly take it.

'I guess I'll have to leave Karura to Mikoto,' she thought, glancing over towards Mikoto who was staring at Karura. The Suna kunoichi was matching the stare.

Shikaku was muttering troublesome, not believing his luck. Or lack of in this situation.

Minato, who was standing next to him, patted his back with a smile. "Let's have a good fight. Okay?"

'Easy for you to say,' Shikaku thought. 'I seriously should consider dropping out right now…..'

But feeling Yoshino's eyes on him, Shikaku realized that that wasn't an option for him.

"The final around will take place in a month," the chunnin continued, drawing the attention of the genin back to him. "So do everything you can to prepare until then. For now, you're dismissed. And good luck to you all."

The genin bowed.

"Oi. Where exactly are you going? Shouldn't you be resting by now?"

Even though her body was telling her yes, Kushina still pressed on towards her destination. Which was not her home. The sun was already out of sight by this point, the night sky now illuminated by the moon.

'I know that. But I have to prepare for my future matches. I only have a month, so I have to start preparing as soon as possible.'

Kurama chuckled. "I see. Is this why you turned down your sensei's offer earlier?"

Kushina did feel bad about rejecting Sakumo's offer to train her for the finals. But she already had someone else in mind whom she wanted as her teacher for the next month. She had heard about the woman before from many different people, dubbing this woman as one of the strongest, if not the strongest, kunoichi that Konoha currently had. It was why she had asked Sakumo where she could find her.

'Yes. I have to deal with Takao first. But there's also Mikoto who I have to keep in my sights….'

It was why Kushina stopped in one of the more famous bars that Konoha presently had. She technically couldn't be here, but she pained that no mind. She had already made up her mind about this issue.

So she walked in as confidently as she could, her eyes scanning the crowd for the woman she was looking for. It wasn't long before she spotted her target, the kunoichi drinking alongside a dark haired woman around her age. But Kushina paid her no mind as she walked up towards the one she had been seeking.

"Senju Tsunade, correct?"

Stopping mid-drink, Tsunade glanced to her side to see a red-haired girl looking up at her. "And who might you be, brat?"

"I'm Uzumaki Kushina," she answered before bowing. "And I'm here to ask you if you could please train me!"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, obviously being taken back by what she had just heard.

"Oh, my. Isn't she a cutie?"

Raising her head, Kushina saw the dark haired woman she had noticed before looking at her with a smile. Now having a closer look, Kushina noticed that the older woman also had dark onyx eyes. She was wearing skin tight shorts with a long sleeved black blouse. All in all, Kushina could see that the woman was definitely beautiful.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Keep your hormones in check, Kagome. She's just a girl."

The now named Kagome purred. "But still. She's so cute! You just want to gobble her up!"

Kushina blushed at hearing this, not knowing what to say.

Sighing at her best friend's antics, Tsunade focused her attention back on Kushina. "Brat, why the hell do you even want me to train you?"

Coming out of her embarrassment, Kushina answered, "I'm taking part in the final round of the Chunnin exams in a month. I have strong opponents to look forward to. And I was just thinking that, since you're so strong, that you could help me prepare….."

Kushina trailed off when she saw Tsunade staring intently at her.

"The Chunnin exams, you say?" Kagome asked with a curious look. "By any chance, do you know a Uchiha Mikoto?"

Kushina nodded, not knowing what Mikoto had to do with this.

Kagome hummed at this, taking another sip from her drink before she finally said. "Say. What do you think about training under an Uchiha too?"

Both Kushina and Tsunade looked at her in surprise.

"What?" Kushina asked dumbly.

Smirking, Kagome pointed at herself. "I'm Uchiha Kagome. And knowing Mikoto, I bet she also made it to the finals correct?"

Seeing Kushina nod, she continued, "Well, you may have to face against her too. So. What do you say about being trained by someone who knows a lot about her moves?"

Tsunade looked at her with a confused look. "Oi, are you sure about this?"

Kagome nodded. "I am. And I think you should do it too. I mean, she came all this way just to meet you face-to-face. That's enough determination for me to accept her request."

"Not that I'm not flattered," Kushina began slowly, drawing the attention of both women, "but why exactly are you offering me this?"

Kagome chuckled, her face taking a more somber look to it. "Mikoto…..well, she's talented. Even by Uchiha standards. She's growing stronger than anyone else around her age. But because of this, she believes that she doesn't need to rely on anyone else. As far as she's concerned, she only needs to rely on her skills alone. And I don't want her to realize the errors in that way of thinking when it's too late." Sending a wink towards Kushina, she continued, "And like I said earlier, I can already see that you have guts. So I'm willing to entrust this to you. Since you also made it to the finals, I know that you must have great skills too. So I want you to teach little Miko a lesson for me."

Kushina couldn't believe her ears. She never would have thought that there would be someone like Kagome thinking about Mikoto like that. But if it would help her defeat Mikoto, then she would take it.

Tsunade then sighed. "Now I have to accept her request too. Otherwise I'll come out as the bad guy here. I really hate you sometimes, you know."

Kagome giggled as she leaned in closer towards Tsunade. "C'mon. You were getting bored lately anyway. Isn't that why we hit the town tonight? Besides, I'm sure Dan will understand why you won't be able to keep his bed warm for the next month….."

Kagome laughed as Tsunade sent a halfheartedly punch towards her, which she easily dodged.

Kushina's face was as red as her hair by this point, having had heard what Kagome had just said.

Inside her mind, Kurama prayed for the future, already knowing that Kushina was more than likely going to be corrupted by the perverted Uchiha woman.

Minato was surprised to see a toad waiting for him in the middle of his bed as he entered his bedroom.

'How in the world did you-'

His question was answered when a cool wind hit his face from one of his windows, which he had left opened it seemed.

Already knowing that the toad was from Jiraiya, Minato sat on his bed, taking a scroll that the toad was carrying. Seeing that his mission was complete, the toad disappeared in a puff of smoke. But the blond payed this no mind as he opened the scroll. His eyes widened when he saw that it was a letter from his perverted teacher.

Yo, brat!

I hear from Sarutobi-sensei that you're taking the Chunnin exams right about now. Congratulations! Knowing you, you're probably going to the finals too. So if you're reading this letter, then it means my guess came true. Anyway, I'm sure you're feeling like I left you hanging again since I took both Naruto and Sasuke with me on another training trip. But fear not, for the gallant Jiraiya could never forget about his cute pupil! At the bottom of this letter, you will find instructions for a very powerful jutsu that we have discovered recently over here. And we have decided to share it with you! Think of it as a gift for making it this far in the exams. And to spice things up even more, I'll also let you finally sign the contract with the toads if you win the tournament this upcoming month. Just think of that as extra motivation for yourself in your matches.

Ja ne!

Minato was smiling as wide as he could as he read the letter. He was extremely touched at the moment. At first, he had been a bit irritated that Jiraiya had left on another training trip without him. The Chunnin exams had made him forget about that. But now, he was extremely glad to have Jiraiya as a mentor.

Putting that aside for now, though, Minato decided to get a look at the instructions before he called it a night.

'So the first step is for me to pop a balloon with nothing but my chakra…..'

Takao stood in front of the apartment of the person he was waiting for. He had been here a couple of hours already. After he had checked to see if the person he was searching for was inside the apartment or not of course.

The genin was getting a bit tired of waiting too. But he also knew that he needed to make sure that he had a proper trainer for the finals. Seeing who he was up against, Takao knew that he would have to be even better than what he already was if he wanted to stand a chance.

After a couple more minutes, the person in question finally came in sight down the street with his hands in his pockets.

Sighing in relief, Takao made his way over towards him before he bowed.

"Orochimaru-sama, it's a great pleasure to finally meet you," Takao said.

Orochimaru, who was wearing the standard Konoha jonin attire, raised an eyebrow when he saw the genin bowing in frown of him.

"Who are you, and what do you want? And don't waste my time, boy. I have many things to do at the moment."

Not letting the hostile tone deter him, Takao raised his head as he said, "My name is Amane Takao, and I'm here to ask you to make me your apprentice."

Orochimaru looked at him in silence for a couple of seconds before he began to make his way around the boy. "No."

"B-but why!?"

Not even bothering to turn around, Orochimaru replied, "I don't have the time to waste on a brat like you. Like I already told you, I have other things to take care of right now."

"Orochimaru-sama, please! I'm begging you! I won't disappoint you!"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes when he saw the boy stop in front of him again. "Why do you even wish to train under me anyway? What's your goal?"

"I'm in the final portion of the Chunnin exams that's taking place next month," Takao answered with gritted teeth. "And the opponents that stand in front of me are all powerful. Too powerful for me right now. I have made it to where I am today by myself. I come from no ninja family. But recently, I have hit a dent in my training. That is why I am here to ask if you could please me help me get around this dent so that I can rise to even greater heights! Please!"

Orochimaru didn't reply, his gaze meeting Takao's head on. Unlike the others so far, however, Takao didn't flinch away. If anything, Orochimaru recognized the determination in front of him. It was the same one that he had had when he had been the same age as this boy.

Closing his eyes, Orochimaru began to make his way around the boy again. Thinking that Orochimaru was about to reject him again, Takao was about to ask for a second time until Orochimaru spoke.

"Fine. Be here by seven in the morning tomorrow. Be a second late and that will be the end of this. Understand?"

Takao could only nod, his determination flaring up even more.

'Just wait, Kushina. In a month, I will show you that you belong right next to me!'

In a different country altogether, two shinobi stood next to one another as they watched the rain drops fall outside. These two shinobi were none other than Naruto and Sasuke, the two currently being inside one of the many gigantic towers in Ame.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "No. I have waited long enough. You and I both know that the Tsuchikage isn't stupid enough to start a war just for the hell of it. Especially since, if our hypothesis is true, he's already lost the Son Goku of this time period. There is something else happening in Iwa right now. And I intent to get to the bottom of it."

Naruto sighed. "Then you could at least take Miyuki with you. She would be the perfect partner for-"

"You and I both know that she isn't a big fan of me," Sasuke cut in. "If it wasn't for you, she would have tried to kill me by now."

Naruto already knew this, of course. He also knew that it probably had something to do with Sasuke possessing Indra's chakra. "Even so-"

"And Kaito is also returning to Konoha in a couple of days, just in case the war turns even worse than what it currently is," Sasuke continued. "And you and Jiraiya have to stay here with Nagato and the others as well as to make sure that the new alliance between Konoha and Ame holds."

"I know that already," Naruto said through clenched teeth.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't seem like it."

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto said, "It's just that I don't want you to get caught up in something that you can't handle."

Sasuke h'mphed. "Don't get so dramatic on me, idiot. Besides, we both know that we're taking great risks with all of this. But we've waited long enough. We already have Ame and unintentionally Suna allied with us. It's a start. But we have to get a move on with the other nations. We don't know where the Raikage currently stands after our offer. So the best place to start is with Iwa."

"Yeah, I know."

"Then you also know that I must go." Shrugging, Sasuke added, "Besides, isn't this the type of cooperation that you wanted? I'm not like you, Naruto. I can't handle all the delicacies that come with maintaining the many alliances we will build. That will be your job. You're going to be the face. I don't mind being the shadow."

Naruto shook his head. "Don't say that, idiot. You're just as important in this as I am."

Sasuke chuckled. "I never said I wasn't. It's just that my role is different from yours. It's a role that I don't mind taking either. You're going to be the leader of this new world, and I'll be your right hand man who watches your back. It's the perfect way. You know that already."

Even so, Naruto wasn't about to start treating Sasuke like nothing but his henchman who did all the work in the shadows. To Naruto, the world they were trying to build was going to be because of their combined efforts equally, not with any of this "shadow" crap.

But not paying this any mind, Sasuke turned his back to Naruto as he made his way towards the opening of the tower where they were currently in, placing the hood of his cloak over his head.

"I'll be seeing you, dobe. Good luck."

Chuckling, Naruto closed his eyes as he said, "Yeah, the same to you, brother."

Back in Konoha, one lone figure stood on top of the Hokage Monument. Said figure was wearing a black dress with red frills, black stockings which were supported with garters, and red boots. There was also a noticeable red ribbon over her pure black hair. Her eyes were a deep wine red color. She was also carrying a black umbrella which she had over her head at the moment despite the fact that it wasn't raining. The figure had the appearance of that of a thirteen year old girl, but the way she carried herself gave the impression that she was much much older than that.

The figure was also staring down at the village of Konoha with a calm gaze, the stars shining in the night sky. This was the same village that Naruto had come from. The same person whom she had been observing for a very long time. The same person who never failed to meet her expectations and go beyond them.

'He hasn't even tried to use the Rinnegan to bring his beloved back,' she mused. The thought had probably never occurred to the boy. And that was something that both Naruto and Nori shared with one another, even if the latter would never admit it.

'The winds are taking a new turn,' she thought to herself. This era was just as unpredictable as the one she had first awakened to all those years ago. A small and rare smile appeared on her face as she recalled that day.

"You should smile some, you know!"

"Is there any reason for smiling?"

"Of course! You're alive, aren't you!?"

"You are one strange girl….."

"Call me Kaguya! And I'm not strange! You're just grumpy!"

That memory would always be with her, etched into her heart. But for now, she was nothing but an observer in this dangerous game that was currently being played out.